Gifts: Black Furies
The Black Furies Gifts Spirits in service to or allied with a tribe's totem teach Tribal Gifts. Some tribes' Gifts haven't changed in centuries, while others (such as the Glass Walkers) regularly reinvent their relationship with the spirits. Learning a Gift from another tribe usually requires the Garou to be on good terms with at least one member of the tribe (generally a packmate) who can summon the appropriate spirit. Even then, the Garou must convince the spirit she is worthy of its blessings, and that she won't turn them against its tribal allies. Some Garou are extremely touchy about outsiders learning their tribal blessings, while others believe the practice strengthens the Garou Nation as a whole in its war against the Wyrm. The Black Furies' Gifts reflect their closeness to the Wyld and allow them to unleash their centuries of tribulation on others. They possess some of the most effective war-Gifts of all the tribes. Rank 1 Breath of the Wyld Furies embrace the energy of creation, and they can share that passion with others. With this Gift, the Black Fury instills a feeling of vitality, life, and lucidity in another living being. It is taught by a servant of Pegasus. System: The Fury must touch her target's skin. The player rolls Gnosis (difficulty 5 against Garou and Kinfolk; difficulty 6 for others). Success grants the recipient a rush of mental vitality -- in game terms, one additional die on all Mental rolls for the rest of the scene. It also adds one to the difficulties of any Rage rolls made during the scene. Heightened Senses This Gift sharpens the werewolf's senses to an incredible degree. She enjoys the olfactory and auditory acuity of a wolf whenever she is in Homid and Glabro forms, along with superior night vision. In Crinos, Hispo and Lupus, her senses become preternaturally potent, allowing sensory feats that border on precognition. Sudden loud noises, bright lights or overwhelming scents can be disorienting, however. Wolf-spirits teach this Gift. System: The player spends a Gnosis point to activate this Gift for a scene. In Homid and Glabro, the werewolf's Perception difficulties decrease by two and she may roll Perception + Primal-Urge to perform uncanny sensory feats such as tracking by scent. In Crinos, Hispo, and Lupus, Perception difficulties decrease by three (this is not cumulative with the ordinary Lupus-form Perception bonuses) and the werewolf gains an extra die to Primal-Urge dice pools. Man’s Skin Distasteful though it may be, the Black Furies sometimes find it necessary to pass unnoticed through the world of men. This Gift allows a Fury to effectively change gender in the eyes of onlookers. Her features and build become decidedly more masculine, and her garb seems of a masculine cut. Her hair, eye and skin color remain the same; the result is a man who shows a slight family resemblance to the Fury. Despite this Gift's name, it works equally well when male metis Furies employ it to disguise themselves as women. The Gift is taught by an ancestor-spirit or a seahorse-spirit. System: The player rolls Charisma + Subterfuge (difficulty 7). The illusion lasts for one scene per success, or until the Fury shifts form. The disguise withstands casual tactile contact, although heavy or violent contact will reveal the truth. Sense Wyrm The werewolf can sense nearby manifestations of the Wyrm. This Gift involves a mystical sense, not a visual or olfactory image, although Garou often describe the Wyrm's spiritual emanations as a stench. This Gift doesn't necessarily sense dedication to the Wyrm, merely contact with its spiritual essence, which can cling to even blameless souls. Sense Wyrm requires active concentration; the spiritual sense it provides doesn't function passively. The Gift may be taught by any Gaian spirit. System: The player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the concentration and strength of the Wyrm's influence: Sensing a single fomor in the next room would be difficulty 6, while detecting the stench of a Bane that was in the room an hour ago would be difficulty 7. Vampires register as Wyrm-tainted, save those with Humanity ratings of 7 or higher. Wyld Resurgence Bent to Gaia's service, the creative, living essence of the Wyld roars through the Fury's body, shining beneath her skin as a rippling wave of prismatic energy which focuses on and shines out through her wounds. This surge supercharges the werewolf's regenerative powers, quickly mending even the most grievous of wounds. A servant of Pegasus teaches this Gift. System: The Fury spends a turn in concentration and the player spends one Gnosis point. The werewolf immediately heals either three levels of bashing damage or two levels of lethal damage. With the expenditure of a Willpower point in addition to the Gnosis point, one level of aggravated damage may be healed instead. Damage caused by silver weapons cannot be healed with this Gift. Rank 2 Curse of Aeolus The Fury calls up a thick, eerie fog that obscures vision and unnerves her opponents. The Fury can see through her own fog with no difficulty. A fog-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player makes a Gnosis roll, with the difficulty depending on humidity and closeness to a body of water (a lake shore might be difficulty 4, while a desert would be 9). Those other than the Fury who are enveloped in the fog lose half of their dice on all Perception rolls (round up). All those enveloped within the fog also lose one die from all Willpower rolls, save the Fury and her packmates. The fog covers roughly one city block in area. Form Mastery This Gift empowers the Wyld spark that resides in all Garou, granting the character greater control over her shapeshifting abilities. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift. System: When shapeshifting, all difficulties are reduced by 1. Additionally, when enacting partial transformations, the player need no longer spend a Willpower point, and the difficulty of the roll is 7. This Gift's effects are permanent. Kali’s Tongue A terrible Wyrm-creature terrorized the land in ancient days of myth. For every drop of blood it spilled, another monster would spring up from the ground. A goddess of destruction spread out her tongue to catch each drop of blood as it fell, and in this fashion enabled the monster's defeat. Modern Black Furies apply similar magic in their struggles against Black Spiral Dancers and other resilient foes. A cobra-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one point of Rage and rolls Manipulation + Medicine (difficulty equals the target's Rage or Willpower –3, whichever is lower). Each success prevents the target from healing damage by any means (including Gifts like Mother's Touch) for one turn. Kneel By pointing a finger or claw at a target, a Fury can force him to his knees. Only the strongest-willed can do anything but strain and swear in response. This Gift is taught by one of Pegasus's brood. System: The Fury rolls Manipulation + Intimidation (difficulty of the subject's Willpower). Her target falls to his knees unless he spends a Gnosis point to resist the Gift's effects (other supernatural beings may spend their own form of mystic energy, such as blood or quintessence, but mortals remain helpless). The target kneels for one turn per success. Pulse of the Prey If the werewolf knows anything about her prey -- even a nickname, initials, or crude description -- she can track it as fast as she can travel. This unerring sense of direction works anywhere, and is as useful for tracking spirits through the Deep Umbra as Pentex executives through Baltimore. A wolf- or dog-spirit teaches this Gift. System: No roll is required unless the target is actively hiding, in which case the player rolls Perception + Enigmas against a difficulty of the target's Wits + Stealth. If the target is a spirit, the difficulty is the spirit's Gnosis. Rank 3 Coup de Grace The Garou finds the point of her foe's greatest weakness -- and strikes at it. An owl-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Willpower point and rolls Perception + Brawl (difficulty of the target's Stamina + Athletics). If successful, the player doubles her damage dice on the Garou's next successful attack. Heart Claw The Fury breaks one of her claws off in a wound, imbuing it with all of her killing intent. The claw continues to burrow into her opponent's flesh, and will not stop until it finds his heart. A wasp-spirit teaches this Gift. System: Upon making a successful claw attack, the player spends one point of Willpower. The burrowing claw inflicts one automatic level of unsoakable lethal damage each subsequent turn until it either kills the target or is dug out of the wound (a Dexterity + Medicine action, difficulty 7, requiring a turn's full concentration). Visceral Agony The werewolf's claws change to barbed, wicked talons dripping with black venom. While this venom is not itself lethal, it inflicts crippling agony. A pain-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends a Rage point before the character attacks. Any wound penalties suffered as a result of the character's attacks during that turn are doubled (i.e. a foe at Wounded would lose four dice) for the rest of the scene. If the target is resistant to pain (such as in a frenzy) he suffers his normal wound penalties instead. Wings of Pegasus The Fury can sprout majestic wings when in Hispo form, allowing her to fly at will. An avatar of Pegasus teaches this Gift. System: The player spends a Gnosis point to produce the wings capable of 50 miles per hour (80 kph) flight, which last until dismissed. Fine flying maneuvers require a Dexterity + Athletics roll at a difficulty determined by the Storyteller. Rank 4 Beast Life The werewolf can communicate with other wild animals and attract or even command them. Domesticated animals may speak with the Garou, but they have given themselves over to the ways of humans and will provide no aid beyond information. Any animal spirit can teach this Gift, although lupus prefer to learn it from lion- or wolf-spirits. System: The character gains the permanent ability to communicate with all animals, regardless of the form she wears. To attract animals, the player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Charisma + Animal Ken (difficulty 7). All animals within 10 miles (16 km) per success respond to the summons, and will follow any requests the Garou makes. It is considered customary to pay homage to the spirit of any animal ordered to sacrifice itself with this Gift; to do otherwise risks angering the spirit world. Body Wrack Pouring her Rage and pain into an opponent, the Fury induces debilitating agony. Victims tend to fall to the ground, screaming between convulsions. A pain-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis (difficulty equals the victim's Stamina + 3). If successful, the target is left stunned and convulsing for one round per success. Additionally, the target subtracts one die from all rolls for the rest of the scene. Wasp Talons The Fury with this Gift can fire her claws from her hand like darts. She can't make claw attacks with that hand until her claws regenerate, of course, but this is rarely a problem when her opponent lies eviscerated on the other side of the room. A wasp-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends a Rage point and rolls Dexterity + Brawl to hit. The difficulty is figured as though the character is using a firearm; the medium range is 20 yards (18 m). Damage is calculated normally for a claw strike. Regenerating fired claws takes one turn. Rank 5 Gorgon’s Gaze The Fury's eyes burn red, gold, and green as this hideous power of legend transforms living flesh into stone with but a gaze. Difficult to find and even more dangerous to approach, legendary Basilisk teaches this Gift. System: After making eye contact, the player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Appearance + Occult (difficulty of the target's Willpower). The victim is completely paralyzed for one turn per success; five successes permanently transform the target to stone. Thousand Faces The werewolf with this Gift may change herself into any animal between the sizes of a small bird and a bison. The Garou gains all the special capabilities (flight, gills, poison, sensory abilities, etc.) of the animal she mimics. She may not take the form of Wyrm-beasts (not that she would wish to!), but with some extra effort she may take the form of mystical beasts (such as a griffon or unicorn), provided the beast remains within the usual size limitations of the Gift. Wyld-spirits teach this Gift. System: The player spends a point of Gnosis and rolls Intelligence + Animal Ken (difficulty 6). One success allows the character to assume the shape of any normal animal. For the duration of the scene, he may make additional transformation rolls without spending additional Gnosis, provided he only takes the shape of normal animals. To allow the character to take on a mythical form, the player must spend an additional point of Gnosis and succeed against a difficulty of 9. Wyld Warp This Gift summons a swarm of Wyld-spirits to aid the Fury. When they arrive, the Wyldlings behave in a wildly unpredictable, but beneficial, fashion. They might tear the Fury's foes limb from limb, replenish her pack's Rage, destroy all Weaver-tools in the area, or haul opponents away into the Deep Umbra. A Wyldling teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point and one Rage point, then rolls Wits + Enigmas (difficulty equals the local Gauntlet). Successes summon a variable number of Wyldlings.